Drowning
by georgiemayx
Summary: That was when Ariel saw his left arm. Where there should have been a hand, there was a hook. (Rated T for now but it may change to M later :3 Reviews welcome.. I haven't written in a very, very long time!)
1. Chapter 1

The sounds of the battle above had been reverberating through the water for what felt like hours. Ariel had seen its kind before: the fire, the blood, the wreckage and corpses alike sinking slowly to the seabed. The huge expanse of water above the kingdom was glowing red and orange from the fire, eerily beautiful in its own way. She longed to swim to the surface and see what a real battle was like. Her father, the King of the Sea, King Triton, had told her all about them. He'd never allowed any of his daughters to go up to the surface though, not ever, and he certainly wasn't about to let them when it was so dangerous up there. He didn't know that Ariel snuck off whenever she could to go up and breathe in the fresh, salty sea air. She loved it up there, loved the sights and the smells. Loved to watch fishermen on their boats, to sight pirate ships from afar with their menacing sails. For years she had heeded her fathers warnings, and had stayed far away from the carnage of a proper fight. But tonight, as her sisters and her father slept, Ariel could feel her rebellious streak ignite within her. "I am a _Princess_", she muttered under her breath, "and _princesses _should be allowed to do whatever they please." She looked around for any sign of movement from her family, and once she was sure that nobody was watching, she swam upwards.

The higher she swam, the more deafening the noises became, but she didn't turn back. There were dark shapes moving far off in the water, most likely sharks circling, waiting for their meal to fall right into their jaws. As she reached the surface she was glad to be so far away from the battle itself. The air, which she usually relished against her face, was hot and heavy with the smell of smoke, and death. The sky, like the ships and the sea, seemed as if it were alight. There were no stars out tonight, Ariel noticed sadly. She loved to look at the stars, to find shapes in the way that they aligned. Sighting a rock jutting out of the water near her, she swam to it and clambered up onto its surface to watch the ships.

One, the farthest from her, was already sinking. Her mast was broken, her blood red sail aflame on the water. Ariel could hear the screams of dying men, chilling her to the core. From what she could see some were burning, others drowning. There were most likely others dying from wounds incurred from sword fighting, if what her father had told her about these battles was true. Whilst it looked as if this ship may have been defeated, she'd fatally damaged her foe. The second ship was fearsome to look upon. She had black sails, torn and ragged from the battle. The wood she was made of seemed to be as black as night, whether or not that was the affect of the flames or the darkness, Ariel couldn't tell. She began sinking, bow first, the angle at which she was entering the water becoming steeper every second. As her unsupported stern rose out of the water, a roaring _crack _sounded, and the vessel split in half. The stern remained afloat for mere minutes before sinking into the icy depths of the ocean. Ariel felt sorry for the men who had lost their lives here tonight, knowing that if there were any survivors left even now, they wouldn't last long. They would either drown, be consumed by the fire or the sharks alike, or freeze to death in the bitterly cold sea.

She waited a while before launching herself back into the water, which felt warm against _her _skin. Dipping her head under, to check for sharks, she began the decline to the seabed. As she descended, her curiosity got the better of her and she turned in the direction of where the battle had been. As she neared the site of destruction, she was pleased to note that the sharks had obviously had their fill, for now. She knew it wouldn't be long before they came back for more though. The bodies of drowned men and some wreckage from the ships floating above on the surface cast shadows in the water, submerging her into darkness. The amount of death around her made Ariel feel nervous, scared even. She propelled herself upwards, determined to see what was left behind. Mostly there was a lot of splintered, burning wood and wreckage floating. The fires had dwindled significantly, but the flames stubbornly clung to some of the debris. Very few bodies were in the water, Ariel presumed that many had gone down inside the ships or had ended up as the sharks' dinner. The mast of the second ship was still afloat, with her black sail still attached. That was when Ariel noticed the body.

The man was lying face down on top of the mast, his thighs on either side of it, holding him up. His eyes were closed but she could see his breath in the cold air, he was _alive_. Clad completely in black clothing, he had dark hair; almost as black as the sail he was floating next to. His stubble was dark too, and styled in a way that accentuated his strong jaw line. "_Even in unconsciousness there is an arrogance about his features,"_ she thought to herself as she gazed upon his face. His mouth was almost tilted into a smile, the slightest hint of a dimple on his cheek. _"And I bet he has blue eyes. I just bet he does." _Ariel swam to the end of the mast, deftly untying the knot of the rope that connected the bottom of the sail to it. Grabbing a large door that was floating nearby, she gently pulled the man from the mast and rolled him straight onto it. He groaned from pain, which was when Ariel noticed the gash in his side. It didn't look too deep to her, but she couldn't be sure until she got him to solid ground. Quickly, she tied the rope around the door and began to swim, pulling him away from the wreckage.

When she reached the rock that she'd watched the ships sink from, she pulled herself up onto it. Wishing now, more than ever, that she had legs to help her, she tugged on the rope to pull the door closer to the edge of the rock. Putting her hands under his arms, she began to haul him, with great difficulty, onto the rocky surface. Bracing her tail behind her she was just able to do it. She placed her hand on his chest, and leant her ear close to his mouth. His chest rose up and down routinely, and his breath tickled her neck. Satisfied that he was definitely alive she moved to sit farther away from him. It was then she saw his left arm.

Where there should have been a hand, there was a _hook_.


	2. Chapter 2

A _hook?_

Ariel sat, staring at it, wondering how he came to lose his hand. _A savage shark attack? A horrific accident on the deck of his ship? No, that won't be it. A duel. A fierce duel with a pirate, where he lost his hand, but his foe lost his life. That would be how it happened._ As she continued to speculate, the sun was breaking over the horizon, the dawn had finally arrived. Its beauty overwhelmed her, as it did every time she snuck up to the surface to watch it. The sunlight spilled over the rock, and crept over his body, then his face. As the light illuminated his features, Ariel thought he might have the most handsome face she'd ever looked upon. _Stop it. He's a human! You'll always be a mermaid. You'll always be here, in the ocean. You'll never be a part of that world_.

She knew she'd have to leave soon, if she didn't want to be caught by her father. It was just so hard though, to leave this poor man lying out here alone, with nowhere to go. She drew nearer to him, putting her hand over his, surprised at how warm he was considering the circumstances. At her touch, he sighed. "Milah. Milah," he croaked in a hoarse whisper. Taken aback by the sound of his voice, she squirmed away from him as quickly as she could, knowing she had to leave now. She was just about to dive when she saw his head turn and his eyes open, in enough time to see the emerald green swish of her tail as she plunged into the sea.

As Ariel swam to the seabed, she contemplated how best to conceal her whereabouts for the past few hours should anybody have noticed her absence. Her father always rose early, _but if I could just convince him I'd gotten up earlier then maybe I stand a chance_. She made for her cave, where she kept all her human objects she'd collected ever since she was a little mermaid. It was a very rare occasion that anybody ever sought her out there; human items seemed to make the rest of her family anxious or uncomfortable. She could never understand why. Her father had tried to tell her that humans were evil, that they'd kill any mermaid given half a chance. But she just couldn't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be so bad. She'd seen humans first-hand for herself. She'd seen men dancing on the decks of their boats, whilst others played wooden instruments that made the most beautiful sounds. She'd seen little, shriveled old fisherman in their boats, and could never comprehend how her father could think they'd pose any danger to their kind. Sure, there was the threat that maybe one day your tail could be caught on their line, but mermaids were strong, not to mention fast. The likelihood of that happening was miniscule.

The light of the morning hadn't quite illuminated the seabed Ariel saw as she approached her cave, the thought making her heart leap. With any luck, her father would still be asleep. As she ducked under the low lip of the entrance, a sudden light filled the cavern, and Ariel gave out a small squeak of surprise. "Good morning, Ariel." She had been caught out. Her fathers golden trident filled the cave with light, making all the shiny objects glisten on their sea-carved shelves.

"G-good morning, daddy," Ariel stuttered. _No, you mustn't sound nervous. He'll know. _"You're up early, did you sleep well?" She added, trying to sound casual.

"Very well. Likewise, _you _were up early, weren't you?" he said, his eyes squinting at her through the light, scrutinizing her expression. That was the scariest part of her father; he had some way of _seeing._ Not just seeing the outer shell, but really _seeing, _right into her very soul. That's when she knew she might as well tell him the truth… well, as close to the truth as she could without divulging any information about the man she left on the rock. If he knew about that he'd never allow her to swim farther from the kingdom ever again.

"Y-yes daddy. I, well, I couldn't sleep you see. I think it was all the noise from the battle last night. My head was hurting, and I thought a little swim might help, so I went out. Not too far, not near the fight, just for a while…" King Triton sighed.

"I was worried about you Ariel. But you promise you didn't go anywhere near the ships? It's a dangerous world up there, I've told you all this before."

"I know daddy, I didn't go near the battle. It… it was a long way away from where I was." _A little white lie can't hurt, I wasn't actually near the battle while it was still going on… just after it, was all. _

"Very well. I have important matters to attend to today Ariel, I expect you to behave whilst I'm busy. You be a good girl and _stay_ _here._ I do not want you going anywhere near those shipwrecks like you have before. There are dangers in the water just as there are dangers above it. Do I have to get somebody to watch you while I'm gone? Or can I trust you?"

"No, daddy. You can trust me, I promise." She kissed him on the cheek. _Please don't make one of my sisters trail after me all day, I'll never get back to the surface… _Her father shot one last look upward before he left, glancing over the human artifacts that surrounded them, a visible chill going through him.

Ariel decided to spend a little time in her cavern, as not to rouse suspicion incase she was seen drifting off so soon after her return. As she circled up to the highest shelves, she thought about the man. "What was is that he said?" she wondered, aloud. "What's a… a Milah? I've never heard of one of those before…" She looked at some of her objects, thinking how she didn't really know any of the proper names for any of them. A 'Milah' could be anything. _Or maybe it's his name!_ _Although, I didn't imagine it would be that. Something more like Eric, or Phillip, or John. Or maybe it was a name of one of his crewmates, someone on the ship he cared for… _She pushed the thought from her mind, wondering why she even cared. The man was like to die; there was hardly anything she could do to help him anyway.

Nevertheless, the thought made her anxious. As she ducked back out of the cave, she looked around through the undergrowth. There was nobody to be seen, and so she took her chance and propelled herself up through the water. She knew the location of the rock, and so rose exactly underneath it, hoping not to be seen. As she surfaced, her fire red hair shone in the bright sunlight, and inwardly she cursed it. The man was sat upright, his legs outstretched in front of him. His hooked hand was on the rock holding him up, and his good hand was across his chest, clutching his side where he was hurt. He was facing her. She ducked instinctively.

"There's no need to hide, sweetheart. Captain Hook has already seen you. And what precisely _are_ _you_?"


End file.
